Jimmy Melvin Jr. told the court Thursday he would like to retain a lawyer for his sentencing. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff / File)

A jury has found Halifax gangster Jimmy Melvin Jr. guilty on charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Melvin, 35, stood trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on allegations of plotting to kill Terry Marriott Jr. in December 2008.

The jury deliberated for about two hours Wednesday and 90 minutes Thursday before returning with the guilty verdicts.

Melvin fired lawyer Patrick MacEwen partway through the trial and ended up representing himself after Justice Peter Rosinski denied his application for a mistrial.

The judge appointed lawyer Peter Kidston as amicus curiae, or “a friend of the court,” to make sure Melvin got a fair trial.

Melvin told the court Thursday he would like to retain a lawyer for sentencing.

He will return to court Tuesday, possibly to set dates for a sentencing hearing.

Rosinski said he has no control over where corrections officials decide to hold Melvin but said he will recommend that he be housed at the Dartmouth jail for now so he can arrange new legal counsel.

Marriott was shot to death in February 2009. Melvin stood trial last spring on a charge of first-degree murder but was acquitted.

Crown attorney Rick Woodburn said he and colleagues Christine Driscoll and Sean McCarroll believed they had a stronger case at this trial.

“The jury took the time they needed in order to come up with a just verdict,” Woodburn said.

“They went (to a hotel) overnight, most likely to clarify their thoughts and come in fresh this morning. When they did, they had an opportunity to review the evidence again and came to the verdict they did.”

Nadine Marriott, Terry’s widow, left the courtroom in tears after the jury foreman announced the verdicts Thursday morning.

She thanked prosecutors and investigators but had no comment for media before leaving the courthouse.

“The Marriott family is happy with the verdict and is awaiting the sentencing phase,” Woodburn said.

“They’ve been very patient and good to deal with during the process,” Driscoll added.

The notorious Melvin has spent much of his life behind bars. He has 45 previous adult convictions in Nova Scotia and others in New Brunswick, and has numerous charges of assaulting jail guards still before the courts.

“We’ll move to the sentencing phase now,” Woodburn said. “We’ll concentrate on what we believe is a fair and just sentence given all the circumstances in this case and Mr. Melvin’s record.”

He would not say whether the Crown is considering applying to have Melvin declared a dangerous offender and imprisoned indefinitely.

At trial, the Crown alleged that Melvin and Jason Hallett got a drive from Regan Henneberry to Derek MacPhee’s house in Harrietsfield on the night of Dec. 2, 2008, with the intent of murdering Marriott, who was there partying.

Melvin and Hallett allegedly had two loaded guns — a handgun and a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic, assault-style rifle — with them in the vehicle.

Henneberry testified that he stopped and turned the vehicle around after seeing police cars at MacPhee’s house. MacPhee had called police after Henneberry allegedly tipped him off about Melvin’s plan to kill Marriott.

Melvin did not call any evidence or make closing arguments.

In his instructions to the jury, the judge said it could find Melvin guilty of the offences even though no shots were fired at Marriott that evening.

To convict Melvin of attempted murder, Rosinski said, jurors must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill Marriott and that his conduct went beyond mere preparations.

The judge said that in order to find Melvin guilty on the other charge, the jury had to be convinced that there was a conspiracy between two or more people, that the purpose of the conspiracy was to kill Marriott, and that Melvin was a member of the conspiracy.

Hallett admitted on the stand that he received immunity and money in exchange for testifying against Melvin. Henneberry is scheduled to go to trial at the end of the month but told the court he hopes his charges will be dropped.

In conversations outside court during the trial, Melvin’s supporters questioned the fairness of the proceedings and said he planned to file an appeal if convicted.